Jasmine sat up and looked at the menu, then shrugged. "Oysters sound fine to me."
He raised his eyebrows at her, looking amused. "You sure?"
A frown marred her forehead. "Yeah. It's been a while since I had some."
At this, he laughed aloud and signaled the waiter to place their orders. Jasmine played with her napkin and belatedly realized why Alex had found her answer so funny. Oysters? It's been a while since I had some? Great. Now she had given him ideas.
The smirk was still playing around his mouth after he sent the waiter on his way but she pretended not to notice. Sometimes, it was better to just play dumb with guys.
"Jasmine, I can't wait for you to meet Armaan."
She tried not to roll her eyes. "You've said that like a dozen times today," was her careless response.
He grinned. "Yes, I know but it's just that I can't wait for you to meet Armaan."
"Alex!" Jasmine gave him a look which was both amused and exasperated and he laughed again.
"Sorry," he said lightly.
She laughed with him then. He was incorrigible and genuinely excited for her to meet Armaan. His excitement was rubbing off on her. It felt as though Armaan was a member of a royal family or something.
The oysters were delicious. They reminded Jasmine of the ocean once more. Sipping at her mocktail, she thought about the cottage and what Sophia might be doing at that moment. She was going to call and check later.
"Alex, my man!" The deep, cheerful voice of a stranger startled her out of her reverie and she watched as Alex let out a bark of delighted laughter before standing up and thumping the other guy on the back.
After embracing, they drew back to look at each other fondly. Then Alex seemed to suddenly remember her. "Oh, this is Jasmine. Jasmine, meet Armaan. He's the closest thing I have to a brother."
The new guy looked at her and smiled. "Jasmine," he purred her name as if they had known each other forever and extended a hand. "I've heard a lot about you from my buddy here." He spoke with an American accent and was dressed in a navy blue silk shirt and black jeans.
She shook his hand and smiled back at him. "Likewise." Armaan held on to her hand a little longer than necessary and she had to tug at it to make him let it go. Alex did not notice but invited him to sit down and signaled the waiter again.
"Alex told me that you're the hottest thing in town right now," Armaan murmured, his gaze fixed on her, his tone even and tinged with that masculine brogue that women found attractive. "When it comes to the book world, I mean."
She did not respond. He was seated closer to her than to Alex and the color of his eyes finally registered in her brain. They were blue. A deep, drown-in-the-ocean kind of blue. This was not something Jasmine had been prepared for. He had Middle Eastern origins so what was it with the blue eyes? When he had been standing, his face had been shadowed by darkness but now, it was illuminated by the candle light and it made her swallow because her throat grew dry. He looked so much like someone else whose face she had once held in her heart. His features were sharp and handsome, his skin a delicious bronze colour and his mouth seemed like a piece of heaven.
"Jasmine?" That same mouth opened and purred at her.
She blinked and snapped out of her thoughts. Then, because she needed to occupy herself with something other than staring at him, she reached for her glass of water. Taking a sip, she placed it carefully back on the same spot and answered without looking at him. "Yes. I am."
Her matter-of-fact response made him smile. She glanced at him and quickly looked away as her heart gave a jump. Oh, wow. What an insanely gorgeous smile... It should be outlawed. What the hell was happening to her? She was always poised around guys but he had her feeling nervous with that sexy smirk and those tempting looks. Wait, why was he giving her tempting looks?
Jasmine turned to check properly and discovered the slight gleam in his eye which she knew was an indication of interest. He had only just met her, for God's sake. She frowned at him a little to discourage whatever fancy ideas were brewing in that head of his and he winked at her. Jasmine shot a glance at Alex but he had been talking to the waiter all this time and had not seen their little exchange. Finally, he turned to Armaan.
"I ordered your usual."
Armaan straightened and raised an eyebrow at Alex. "How do you know that my usual hasn't changed in the past few weeks?" he inquired coolly.
Alex laughed. "You might not show commitment when it comes to women but you're very faithful to your meals. Hey, did I mention Armaan loves to cook?" Alex was talking to Jasmine now. "He would have been a gourmet chef if the architect thing hadn't worked out."
Jasmine nodded politely but she wished the two guys would just get on with the conversation and leave her alone to dwell on her dangerous thoughts which had been brought about by blue-eyed-boy here. Would it be terribly rude if she just asked him about his unusual eye color?
In the middle of her musing, Alex's phone rang. He frowned at the screen and aimed a look at Armaan. "It's Mum," he said drily. "Gotta take this, guys. Be right back." He stood up and disappeared in the direction of the river, chatting with his mother.
"Hmm." Armaan switched his full attention to Jasmine and smirked. "Finally."
Despite her surprise, the meaning behind that one word and the way he
